Because the adult mouse utricle, a vestibular organ, shows limited hair cell regeneration, the investigators will examine which genes are active in supporting cells that allow this activity. They will first complete RNA-seq analysis for adult mouse utricular supporting cells, to learn how gene expression is altered in these cells after hair cell damage. Second, they will perform ATAC-seq to locate regions in mouse chromatin that are altered after utricle damage, and correlate these data with RNA-seq results. Finally, they will define genes that are only expressed in type I or type II vestibular hair cells, which will help them determine strategies to promote regeneration of both cell types after damage in adult mammals. The data they generate from these three sets of experiments will be highly useful for defining potential therapeutic strategies for hair cell regeneration in humans.